Hannah,
What has your experience been getting into this career? I am interested to get a woman’s perspective as I am trying to figure out how to get started.
Also, how do people tend to navigate balancing the work schedule with family and/or kids?
Thanks!
Taryn,
I’ve had a great experience. Women are flying now more than ever before. Percentage wise we’re still quite low but it’s increasing with each year. While I was going through the program, I had two other girls in my class. We stuck together through instructing to 1500 hours.
When you have choices of which airline to go to, go somewhere where you will feel valued. I chose to fly at Skywest for many reasons but one of those was because they had the highest percentage of female pilots than any other regional and it reflected in its culture. United also has one of the highest percentages of female pilots in the country. Being in that work force makes you feel more “united” (don’t mind the pun) than an anomaly.
When it comes to being a mom and a pilot, I’ve still got a lot to learn as well. I’m not yet a mom but I’d like to be in the future. I’m still seeking advance from all my female mentors that have been through it. The consensus so far, it is 100% doable but you need a partner that can handle single parenting half the month. You need to always prioritize maximizing time at home over pay, aircraft or seat. Some women chose to stay on a narrow body and get as senior as possible to maximize quality of life. Others that lived in base chose to bid widebody reserve which typically kept than home much more often.
Keep it simple now. Decide if you love flying enough to make it a career. Start on the admission first steps and focus on one thing at a time. You’ll have moments along the way feeling like you don’t belong, but the love of flying should always remind you that it’s all worth it.
Hannah